Coward
by Ninja0Squirl
Summary: Sasuke has a fear, that haunts him more than even he knows. Char!Death


Title:Coward

Pairings: Slight slash (SasuNaru), but only if you squint.

Fandom: Naruto

Summary: Sasuke has a fear, that haunts him more than even he knows. Char!Death

__

Just watching in the sun/

All of my helplessness inside/

Pretending, I don't feel misplaced/

It's so much simpler to change.

It's easier to run/

Replacing this pain with something numb/

It's so much easier to go/

Then face all this pain here all alone.

- Easier to Run, Linkin Park

"SASUKE!" the scream rang through the partially destroyed Valley of the End, the black haired sixteen year old turned, smirking as he spotted his old comrade. It was the second time they had met there, and only proper. The first time their paths had crossed here, he had been about to kill the demon container, but he hadn't been able to. Now, he wasn't so weak. The Valley of the End would be the orange-clad man's last resting place.

"Naruto." he greeted, uncaring. He scanned the horizon, surprised that Naruto had heeded his warning not to bring along anybody, he was probably in trouble for it, which meant they didn't have long before the ANBUcame to collect the kitsune.

"Sasuke." this time, the name was said with regret, which made him turn to face Naruto completely, unused to the emotion lacing the young man's face. He shook it off, and pulled out his katana.

"Prepare yourself." he said simply, running forward. Naruto jumped, agile as the demon he contained, he landed not far behind him, and seemed to hesitate. The black-haired boy didn't, turning and running forward.

"I don't want to fight you, Sasuke." he stopped short, those words so foreign and unexpected from that mouth he had actually frozen at them.

"What the hell are you going on about?" he sneered, trying to cover his lapse of determination. Naruto looked at him, a look, a mix of knowledge and naivety gracing his face, it wasn't the look of a child, but it was not the look of an adult either, it was the look of... something he couldn't recognize.

"We both know how this fight will end." he answered, though it was unnecessary. Charging his sword with a chidori, he ran forward.

"Of course!" he slashed forward, perhaps to clumsily, for Naruto easily avoided it.

"You can fight me, but until you get a blow, I refuse to fight back." Sasuke glared, he didn't understand. This wasn't Naruto, this was an impersonator of some sort, this was.... growling, he surged forward his sword ready to tear his old friend in half.

"Ergh!" his growl grew in noise as he tried to pull his sword from the tight mud of the earth.

"I'm a sage now, did you hear?" the orange-clad boy asked, perched upon the half destroyed face of the first hokage.

"It doesn't matter." he answered, before blowing a ball of fire at him. The blond jumped again, landing behind him.

"You're too angry." Naruto commented, catching the katana as Sasuke moved to slice off his head, "Nice sword by the way." the katana from ripped from his hands and thrown over the kitsune's shoulder, embedding itself carelessly in Madara's forehead.

"Gu-" was all the Uchiha could respond with as Naruto's first blow planted itself slightly above his navel.

"You're angry and clumsy, and I wouldn't be surprised if you're drunk too. Training all that time would've put you on my level, wouldn't it?" Sasuke wrenched himself from the kage-level shinobi with ease, too much ease.

"Shut the hell up!" he shouted, barely able to land on Madara's half-disintegrated bottom lip. _Tobi wouldn't be happy,_ he thought offhandedly.

"So, what happened?" Naruto asked, flickering to lean nonchalantly behind him.

"It's none of your damn business!" he shouted, turning to land a punch on his opponent, the almost-blow was caught in battle-torn hands, and he stared into Naruto's blue-eyes almost unexpectedly as the kitsune leaned in.

"Don't give me that shit Uchiha Sasuke, you may have been gone for nearly three years, you may have betrayed me, you may have grown taller, and changed you're appearance, but I know you, I know you more than any other person alive, and you know that." the hand gripping his fist tightened, and for a moment he was afraid Naruto would snap his hand in that grip, "Don't you, Uchiha Sasuke?" the fist was released, and he jumped far back, landing underneath the first.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he asked in annoyance, hoping to hide his fear at what had just happened.

"Doing what, Uchiha Sasuke?" Naruto questioned, landing in front of him with ease.

"That! Calling me by both names." he knew he sounded pathetic, but watching as Naruto smirked at him for it was still enough to warrant him throwing a few kunai that Naruto easily dodged. The kitsune leaped forward instead of back, and cornered him against the stone wall.

"Simple, even if I do know you more than anybody in the world, I cannot be so familiar with you." his black eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" he asked, so frightened and shocked by this all he couldn't even add a profanity to his question. Naruto laughed, and leaned in even closer if it was possible, mirth clear in those clear blue eyes of his.

"Don't you know, Uchiha Sasuke? You said it yourself," the blue eyes turned serious, dangerously so, "We. Are. Not. Friends." he recoiled like a blow had been given.

"Wha-" he began, but couldn't finish.

"Uchiha Sasuke.... What is the matter, can't you take the blow of your own words?" Naruto reached up his hand, lifting up the chin he hadn't realised was down, "I did Uchiha Sasuke, I lived with the blow you dealt me for a long time, but," a smirk graced his face, "There are differences between us, aren't there?"

"Nar-" he tried to squeak out, the blond ignored him, his smirk melting away.

"You, Uchiha Sasuke, have had your parents and lost them. I have never met my parents. You, Uchiha Sasuke, hate the killer of your parents. I am forced to face mine every day without killing him. You, Uchiha Sasuke, cannot understand emotions, you cannot understand thanks, or love, or even hatred properly without twisting them to fit into your brother's plans. I accept my emotions. You, Uchiha Sasuke, allow yourself to be manipulated. I fight against my manipulaters ever day. But, perhaps the biggest difference, is the most obvious." Naruto leaned even farther forward, such a gentle look in his eyes that Sasuke felt almost relieved for some reason, "You, Uchiha Sasuke, are a coward." the look made the blow hurt so much more.

"GRAAH!" he screamed, lurching forward, unable to stand it any longer, his forehead met Naruto's, and allowed him to jumped from the kitsune's grasp. He paused in shock when he realised he had met Naruto's forehead, the man wasn't wearing a head-band! The blond chuckled and walked forward, as if uncaring. Thinking back, Sasuke remembered him gripping his katana with bare hands and not even wincing, he retreated, wondering.

"Still running, Uchiha Sasuke?" he questioned, uncaring, "Is that all you ever do? All you're good at?" this couldn't be Naruto, it had to be an impostor!

"What... who are you?" he questioned, slightly furious at the stutter.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I am your friend," the impostor took a step forward, and Sasuke another back, "Your teammate," a repeat, "Your brother," another step, "Your superior," another, which trapped Sasuke against the wall underneath Madara Uchiha, "And your executioner." he hadn't even noticed that rasengan in the blonde's hand, but it was there, and now embedded in his chest. The Uchiha was in shock.

"But.... Sakura... Promise..." he managed out, the kitsune smirked wide, almost unnaturally wide.

"Did you actually think I would keep my promise to that slut?" his eyes widened further, "Oh, yes, you weren't around were you? Once you were gone, she had to shower somebody in praise. At first, it was me, but once she realised I was no you, she went onto Kakashi, then Lee, then Neji, Shikamaru, even Chouji became subject to her advances. Too bad you didn't stay, or accept her advances, you would have had more children then you can count." Naruto's smirk suddenly looked pained.

"Coward..." he retorted, _You are a coward, you can't even stand me enough to bring me back. _The taunt didn't work as he wished.

"You think I'm a coward, Uchiha Sasuke?" a brow rose, "We both know that's not true. Every single day, we had the choice to run or stay, and you made your choice. You are not only a coward Uchiha Sasuke, you are an idiotic coward who doesn't even realise that he's nothing but a _puppet_." the last word was spit with such venom, that if Sasuke had enough energy left he would've winced.

"...Bro..." was all he managed out.

"Oh, I've heard what you did to your brother, you're such a terrible person, he was only trying to protect you, and you couldn't even give him the benefit of the doubt." Naruto tsked, and pulled his hand out, "I suppose that you two can have a nice little reunion in hell, then." he shrugged, and watched as Sasuke fell to the ground bleeding.

"Na..."

"How pathetic. While I'm at it, why don't I get something to play with," he reached forward, and pulled out Sasuke's eye, the same his brother had wrenched out and put Amaterasu behind, even as Sasuke screamed out, barely able to move, he reached forward, and took out the other eye.

__

Then there was black.

"NARUTO!" he screamed out, unable to stop the scream from tearing out of his throat, calming himself down, he turned embarrassed to see Jungo, Suigetsu, and Karin staring at him in shock.

"Sasuke....?" Karin asked, concerned. Hmphing, he got up, and wondered off, Karin stood, moving to follow, but Suigetsu stopped her.

"Let him go." she glared at him, and glared back, it was perhaps the nicest thing he'd ever done for Sasuke. Perhaps he had known, the nightmare Sasuke had just faced, or perhaps, he just understood. Either way, Sasuke was free to wander off to a nearby lake. He paused in shock, as for a moment, his image was replaced with an all to familiar one.

"Uzumaki Naruto... When will your face stop haunting me?" he questioned the image, the now all-to familiar face of sixteen year old Naruto.

_"When you stop haunting me." _he paused, unsure if it trully had answered him, berfore shrugging it off and preparing for a bath, he needed one.

_AN: There's actually a few fears in here, I'll list two of the obvious ones, and make you guess the third!_

_1) He is afraid of Naruto being more powerful than him / beating him_

_2) He is afraid of losing his eyes_

_3) Try and guess, I'll give you a hint, it involves something Naruto mentioned!!! I'll send you an message if your right, and even write a requested oneshot! (Even though I should be working on Dreaming and Chasing Promises)_


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